Vernon rakes up residents’ bagged leaves

With spring cleaning in full swing, local residents have a chance to rid their yards of leaves without taking a trip to the dump.

The City of Vernon’s spring leaf clear bag pickup program returns this week. Between April 19 – 23, Waste Connections of Canada will provide curbside collection of leaves and garden refuse to coincide with regular garbage collection days. In order to take part in the program, residents must use clear plastic bags.

City of Vernon residents may put out an unlimited number of clear bags before 7 a.m. on their designated day, at the same location as their regular garbage collection site.

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To participate, there are some things to keep in mind:

• Any clear bags weighing more than 23 kilograms (50 lbs) will be considered overweight and will not be picked up.

• Any coloured bags will be considered as household garbage that is limited to the usual two bags or container quota;

• Do not place leaves in paper yard waste bags, as these can cause issues for pick-up;

• Do not rake anything into the street as you clean up the yard, as this can block storm drains and cause operational issues for street sweepers; and

• Missed clear bags not reported to the City of Vernon within 24 hours will not be picked up.

Residents may also take yard and garden waste to the Greater Vernon Diversion and Disposal Facility free of charge, although unnecessary trips aren’t advised due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, or to report missed pick-ups, call (250) 549-6757.

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